“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:17-21 ESV).
When we read this passage of Scripture we need to read it in the context of the whole of Scripture, particularly Scriptures which teach the message of the gospel of Christ. For many are perverting this to say that if you make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ that you are now “in Christ” and that all your sins are forgiven (past, present, and future), and you are on your way to heaven guaranteed, that nothing can take that away from you, but regardless of how you live. Just not true!
Notice with me the “if” clause. This is conditional. If you are in Christ then… And since Paul made an appeal here to the Corinthians to be reconciled to God, the message appears that at least that some of them had not yet been reconciled to God, or if they had, they had since fallen away and needed to be brought back into fellowship with the Lord. So, we are going to take a look here at what these words mean so that we have a better understanding of what the message is here.
So, if you are truly one who is “in Christ,” the old you should have passed away and the new you should have come into being. For when we believe in Jesus Christ with genuine God-given faith, we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to righteousness. So sin is to no longer have mastery over our lives to where we obey its desires, for if sin is what we obey, it leads to death, not to life eternal (see Romans 6:1-23).
And while this is true that all this is from God, and it is God’s gift to us, and it is not of our own doing, that gift has conditions, for that gift of grace trains us to renounce (say “NO!” to) ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for our Lord’s return. For Jesus Christ “gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works” (see Titus 2:11-14; Ephesians 2:8-10).
So, what does it mean to be reconciled to God? It means I change, exchange; properly, decisively change, as when two parties reconcile when changing to the same position; usually used in a redemptive sense of a sinner reconciling to the Lord; to change from enmity with God to friendship, fellowship, partnership with God. It is about exchanging the old life for the new life in Christ Jesus, which is what it talks about in Romans 6:1-23 and in Ephesians 4:17-24 and in Luke 9:23-26, etc.
So, we can’t just make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ and consider that all our sins, even future sins, are all forgiven and thus we can keep on in deliberate and habitual sin and that it will not be held against us. Wrong! For Jesus said if we don’t give up our old lives that we will lose them for eternity (Luke 9:23-26). And the Scriptures teach that if we continue in sin, making sin our practice, and if righteousness and obedience to our Lord are not what we practice, that we will not inherit eternal life with God.
[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-24; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-11; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]
So, we are not saved one time, good to go, regardless of how we live. If we are truly in Christ, having truly been reconciled to God, then we are saved (past), we are being saved (present active), and we will be saved (future) when Jesus Christ returns for his bride which is when our salvation will be complete, and not until then, but provided that we walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit, and that we continue in those walks of faith and in obedience to the Lord unto the very end.
[Matt 24:9-14; Rom 8:24; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Jn 8:31-32; Jn 15:1-12; Rom 11:17-24; 1 Co 15:2; Col 1:21-23; 2 Tim 2:10-13; Heb 3:6,14-15; 2 Pet 1:5-11; 2 Pet 2:20-22; 1 Jn 2:24-25]
So, when this says that God the Father made Jesus Christ to be sin for us, who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God, he is not talking about some kind of status. He is talking about us living holy lives, pleasing to God, in walks of obedience to his commands (New Covenant) and us no longer walking in sin. We are not to be those who are living in sexual immorality, lying, cheating, stealing, and committing adultery, etc., but we are to live in moral purity, honesty, and faithfulness.
So, when this says “Be reconciled to God” it means to surrender your old life to Jesus Christ, forsake your lives of sin and now follow Jesus Christ in obedience to his commands and in holy living. And keep on living that way until Jesus comes back to take his faithful ones to be with him for eternity. Do not continue in deliberate and habitual sin or you will die in your sins because you did not die to your sins. So, repent of your sins today, surrender your life to Christ, and obey him from now on and forevermore.
Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer
Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897
Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.
Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wandering sinner to find.
O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer others to save.
O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.
Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYhiK2nQBg
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